Front opening dishwasher with improved rack assembly



p 9, 1969 M. R. KAUFFMAN T AL FRONT OPENING DISHWASHER WITH IMPROVEDHACK ASSEMBLY 4 $heets-$heet 1 Filed Sept. 5, 1967 II II 1! II I] II I!n INVENTORS MELVIN R. KAUF'F'MAN Y&WES s. pATTxsoxd mam ATTQRMEY Sept.9, 1969 FM ET AL 3,466,109

FRONT OPENING DISHWASHER WITH IMPROVED RACK ASSEMBLY Filed Sept. 5, 19674 Sheets-Sheet 2 INVENTORS MELviN R. KAUFFMAN fwEsL Y s PATMSQN TH \R ATTO RNEY p 9, 1969 M. R. KAUFFMAN ET AL 3,466,109

FRONT OPENING DISHWASHER WITH IMPROVED RACK ASSEMBLY F'lG.4

INVENTORS MELvm) R. KAuF-FMAN flwes v s. PATY\SOY\] THEWZ ATTORNEY Sept.9, 1969 KAUFFMAN ET AL 3,466,109

FRONT OPENING DISHWASHER WITH IMPROVED RACK ASSEMBLY Filed Sept. 5, 19674 Sheetsheet 4 INVENTORS MELVN R. KAUF'F'MAN WEsL Y s. PPTTlSON THEJATTORNEY United States Patent O 3,466,109 FRONT OPENING DISHWASHER WITHIMPROVED RACK ASSEMBLY Melvin R. Kauffman and Wesley S. Pattisou,Louisville,

Ky., assignors to General Electric Company, a corporation of New YorkFiled Sept. 5, 1967, Ser. No. 665,559 Int. Cl. A471 15/50; A47b 77/08US. Cl. 312-338 9 Claims ABSTRACT OF THE DISCLOSURE An improved rackassembly for a dishwasher of the type including a washing enclosurehaving top, bottom and side walls and an access opening through thefront side wall. The rack assembly includes upper and lower openframework dish racks positionable within the enclosure in a verticallyspaced relationship. The lower rack extends over substantially theentire horizontal crosssectional area of the enclosure when positionedtherein and the upper rack is split from front to rear into left andright sections which have a combined cross-sectional area approximatingthat of the lower rack. Support means are provided in the upper portionof the enclosure for removably mounting the upper rack sectionsselectively at several different elevations above the lower rack forsubstantially horizontal sliding movement through the access openingindependently of the lower rack and of one another. The division of theupper rack into plural removable sections permits easier access to thelower rack and also allows use of practically the entire height of allor part of the washing enclosure.

BACKGROUND OF THE INVENTION The present invention relates to dishwashingmachines of the type having a front opening and racks which movesubstantially horizontally through that opening, and, more particularly,to an improved rack assembly which provides optimum effectiveness forsuch machines.

Dishwashing machines often have a washing enclosure with an accessopening through the front side wall thereof. Such machines are usuallyprovided with a door hinged at its bottom for pivotal movement from avertical to a horizontal position to permit access to the washingenclosure. In such machines, there are generally two vertically spacedracks for receiving the articles to be washed. Each of these racks has across-sectional area substantially equal to that of the horizontalcross-section of the enclosure and is slidable independently of theother horizontally through the access opening to extend over the opendoor. It is conventional to form the bottom rack to receive largerdishes and the top rack to receive smaller dishes and glasses. Whilethis conventional arrangement has substantial advantages, it also hasthe disadvantages that, when a mixed load of dishes is to be insertedinto the dishwasher, the operator must move the top rack in and outcontinuously. This results from the fact that each time a large dish isto be inserted into the lower rack the upper rack must be moved backinto the enclosure to allow access to the lower rack, while each time aglass or a small dish is to be positioned for washing, the upper rackmust then be pulled back out again. Hence, it would be desirable if theupper rack could be split from front to rear into two or more sectionsso that the operator could gain access to the lower rack without movingthe entire upper rack back into the enclosure.

It would also be desirable if the elevations of the upper rack sectionscould be varied to accommodate articles of different height in both theupper and lower 3,466,109 Patented Sept. 9, 1969 SUMMARY OF THEINVENTION The present invention provides an improved rack assembly in anautomatic dishwasher of the type including a washing enclosure having anaccess opening formed in its front side wall. In one preferred form theassembly comprises: a lower rack positionable within a lower portion ofthe enclosure for substantially horizontal movement through the accessopening; and, support means in the upper portion of the enclosure formounting a plurality of generally side-by-side removable upper racksselectively at several elevations above the lower rack for slidingmovement through the access opening independently of the lower rack andof one another. The support means preferably includes a plurality ofcentrally open frames, one for receiving each of the removable upperracks, and means mounting each of the frames in the enclosure forsliding movement substantially horizontally through the access opening.Each of the frames is preferably provided with elevation positioningmeans on its central opening which are selectively engageable withcomplementary means on the upper rack which is removably mountedtherein. With this arrangement, the upper racks can be positioned intheir respective frames at a variety of elevations relative to oneanother and to the lower rack or can be entirely removed from theirsupport frames.

BRIEF DESCRIPTION OF THE DRAWINGS FIGURE 1 is a front elevational view,with some of the parts broken away to illustrate details, of adishwasher incorporating a first embodiment of the improved rackassembly of the present invention;

FIGURE 2 is a fragmentary front perspective view of the dishwasher ofFIGURE 1 with the door open and the upper rack sections removed to showdetails of their support means;

FIGURE 3 is a partly broken fragmentary side view of the upper portionof the dishwasher of FIGURES l and 2;

FIGURE 4 is a fragmentary front elevational view of the upper portion ofa dishwasher incorporating a second embodiment of the rack assembly ofthe present invention with the door open;

FIGURE 5 is a fragmentary front perspective view of the dishwasherportion of FIGURE 4 with the upper rack sections removed to show detailsof their support means; and

FIGURE 6 is a fragmentary side clevational view showing details of theconstruction of the pivoted stops provided at the rear ends of theslides for the removable frames of the embodiment of FIGURES 4 and 5.

DESCRIPTION OF THE PREFERRED EMBODIMENTS Referring now to the drawingsand particularly to FIGURES 1 and 2 thereof, there is illustrated afront opening automatic dishwasher 10. The dishwasher includes an outercabinet 11 having a top wall 12, a front wall 13, a rear wall 14 andleft and right side walls 15 and 16. The aforementioned walls definetherein a washing enclosure 17. The cabinet 11 has an opening 18 in itsfront wall 13 which serves as an access opening for the admission ofarticles to and removal of the articles from the washing enclosure 17.This access opening 18 is provided with a closure member or door 19pivoted at its bottom edge by hinge means 20 to cabinet front wall 13adjacent the lower edge of the access Opening 18. The door 19 is movablebetween a substantially vertical position closing the opening 18 and asubstantially horizontal position opening the opening 18.

The bottom of the washing enclosure 17 is defined by a bottom wall 21which is connected in a liquid-tight relationship to the walls 13-16.The bottom wall 21 gradually slopes to a low point 22 near the center ofthe dishwasher. Disposed below the low point 22 is a sump 23 which maybe formed integrally in the bottom wall 21 or which may be a separateelement secured to the bottom wall. Disposed below and supported by thebottom wall 21 is a motor pump assembly 24 which includes an electricmotor 25, pump 26 and an electricallyoperated valve 27 (shown in block).The sump 23 and the inlet of the pump 26 are interconnected by a largediameter conduit 28. The conduit 28 is secured to the sump 23 by meansof a clamp 29 and to the housing of the pump 26 by means of a clamp 30.The pump 26 has a main outlet 31 communicating with a condiut 32 whichin turn communicates with a reaction-type spray head 33 that isrotatably mounted atop a centrally-bored pedestal 34 formed in thebottom wall 21.

The pump 26 is also provided with an efiluent discharge outlet 35 whichis controlled by the valve 27 and is connected to the household sewagesystem by a suitable conduit means (not shown). The valve 27 includes anelement within the housing of the pump 26 that is movable between twopositions. In one of these positions the element closes the efliuentdischarge outlet 35 and opens the main outlet 31 and, in the other ofthese positions, closes the main outlet and opens the efiluent dischargeoutlet. An electrical resistance heating element (not shown) may beprovided in the lower portion of the washing enclosure 17 to facilitatedrying of articles supported therein upon completion of the normal washand rinse operations.

An electrically-operated fill valve (not shown) is provided to admitwater to the washing enclosure 17 and an electrical sequence controlmeans (not shown) of a well known type is provided for sequentiallyoperating the pump valve 27 and the fill valve.

It should, of course, be understood that all the structure thus fardescribed may be modified a great deal Without seriously affecting thepresent invention since this structure is substantially conventional andcomprises only one illustrated structure with which the presentinvention is compatible.

Of course, means must be provided within the washing enclosure 17 tosupport articles or dishes to be washed in a manner wherein the washaction generated by the spray head 33 effectuates cleansing of thearticles. With a dishwasher as thus far described, .it has beenconventional heretofore to provide separate upper and lower racks, eachof which constitute a unitary structure having horizontal dimensionssubstantially equal to the internal horizontal dimensions of the washingenclosure 17. With this arrangement, the lower rack is provided withrollers which allow it to be withdrawn at least partially from thewashing enclosure onto the open door which, upon opening, pivots intohorizontal alignment with means supporting the lower rack within thewashing enclosure. It also has been conventional to provide the unitaryupper rack with a slide mechanism to allow the upper rack to bewithdrawn at least partially in a horizontal direction out of thewashing enclosure 17 As discussed above, with this conventionalarrangement it is necessary to withdraw the entire unitary upper rack sothat the upper rack may be loaded; however, when the unitary upper rackis so withdrawn, it significantly interferes with the attempts of theoperator to load the lower rack. It is the purpose of the presentinvention to provide an improved rack assembly which will allow theoperator to randomly load both the upper rack and the lower racksimultaneously once the entire rack assembly has been moved into theloading position.

The improved rack assembly of the present invention includes aconventional unitary lower rack 36 having a horizontal cross-sectionalarea substantially equal to that of the washing enclosure 17. The lowerrack 36 is provided with rollers 37 on its lower left and right edges.When the lower rack 36 is positioned within the washing enclosure 17,the rollers 37 rest upon horizontal surfaces 38 formed on the interiorof the cabinet left and right side walls 15 and 16, respectively. Thesurfaces 38 can be formed of suitable pieces of sheet metal, suitablyshaped and secured to the respective side walls 15 and 16. The surfaces38 extend from the cabinet rear wall 14 and terminate adjacent theaccess opening 18 in the front cabinet wall 13. As best shown in FIGURE2, the door 19 is provided with surfaces or tracks 39 which, when thedoor is pivoted to its open position, are in horizontal alignment withthe surfaces 38 within the washing enclosure 17 to. permit the lowerrack 36 to be rolled or slid onto the door 19.

In the embodiment of the present invention illustrated in FIGURES l3,the upper rack is split from front to rear along the center of thewashing enclosure 17 and includes a left rack section 40 and a rightrack section 41. The upper rack sections 40 and 41 are substantiallyidentical and comprise substantially rectangular open framework racks orbaskets, which have a combined horizontal cross-sectional areaapproximately equal to that of the lower rack 36.

The upper rack sections 40 and 41 are supported for substantiallyhorizontal sliding movement through the access opening 18 independentlyof one another and the lower rack 36 by support means mounted within theupper portion of the washing enclosure 17.

As illustrated in FIGURES 2 and 3, the support means for the upper racksections 40 and 41 include centrally open, left and right, thick wireframes 42 and 43 and means for slidably mounting the frames 42 and 43 inthe upper portion of the washing enclosure 17. The left and right upperrack sections 40 and 41 are respectively removably mounted in thecentral opening in the left and right frames 42 and 43, which are inturn each mounted for substantially horizontal sliding movement throughthe access opening 18 on slide means which are mounted within theenclosure 17.

Each of the frames 42 and 43 is substantially rectangular and has anouter edge adjacent one of the enclosure side walls 15, 16 and an inneredge adjacent the split between the rack sections 40 and 41. The slidemeans include outer slide means 44 for mounting the outer edge of eachof the frames 42 and 43 and inner slide means 45 for mounting the inneredge of each of the frames 42 and 43.

The outer edge of each of the frames 42 and 43 is mounted to the washingenclosure by the outer slide means 44, which are similar to thosedescribed in detail in US. Patent No. 3,096,125, issued July 2, 1963 toNorman L. Kendt, and assigned to the General Electric Company, assigneeof the present invention. The outer slide means 44 basically include anouter slide 46 supported by four rollers 47 which are rotatablyjournaled on the interior of each of the left and right side walls 15,16 of the cabinet 11. A front roller 48 and a rear roller 49 arerotatably journalled on the outer edge of each of the frames 42 and 43and extend outwardly therefrom to cooperate with elongate slots 50 and51, respectively, in the slide 46.

The inner edge of each of the frames 42 and 43 is mounted within theupper portion of the washing enclosure 17 by the inner slide means 45.The inner slide means includes a bracket 52 which is fastened bysuitable means, such as welds, to the interior of the cabinet upper wall12 adjacent the front center of the access opening 18. The bracket 52has a vertically dependent portion 53 which rotatably journals tworollers 54 on each of its left and right faces. The rollers 54 on theleft face of the bracket portion 53 receive the right or inner edge tothe left frame 42 while the rollers 54 on the right face of the bracketportion 53 receive the left or inner edge of the right frame 43.

With this arrangement, each of the frames 42 and 43 can move relative toits outer slide 46 and its slide 46 can move relative to its cabinetside wall 15 or 16, whereby each of frames 42 and 43 can be movedrearwardly into the washing enclosure to an extent whereby theforwardmost edge of the frame 42 or 43 is well within the washingenclosure 17. As best illustrated in FIGURE 3, complete removal of theframes 42 and 43 from the washing enclosure 17 is prevented by a stop 55which is rigidly fastened to the rear end of each of the slides 46.

As previously noted, each of the left and right upper rack sections 40and 41 is respectively removably mounted in the central opening in theleft and right frames 42 and 43. In accordance with the presentinvention, means are provided for selectively positioning the racksections 40 and 41 at various elevations relative to one another and tothe lower rack 36. This elevation selection is made possible by theprovision of complementar elevation positioning means on the racksections 40 and 41 and their respective frames 42 and 43. In theembodiment illustrated in FIGURES l-3, these elevation positioning meansinclude a pair of upwardly and rearwardly opening hooks 56 formed on theinner perimeter of the rear edge of each of the frames 42 and 43 and apair of upwardly opening resilient clips 57 mounted on the innerperimeter of the front edge of each of the frames 42 and 43. As bestillustrated in FIGURE 3, each of the open framework upper rack sections40 and 41 is provided with vertically spaced horizontal rods 58 and 59,respectively adjacent the top and bottom of its front and rear ends,which are selectively engageable in the hooks 56 and clips 57. If it isdesired to position one of the upper rack sections 40 or 41 at a higherelevation within the washing enclosure 17 (note the right upper racksection 41 in FIGURES 1 and 3) its bottom rods 59 are engaged in thecomplementary hooks 56 and clips 57 of its frame, when the rack sectionis mounted within the frame central opening. Alternatively, forpositioning at a lower elevation (note the left upper rack section 40 inFIGURE 1), its upper rods 58 are so engaged.

FIGURES 4 and 5 illustrate another embodiment of the present inventionwhich provides upper rack sections 60 and 61 of unequal size and permitscomplete removal from the washing enclosure 17 of both of the similarlyunequally-sized left and right frames 62 and 63 which support theunequal upper rack sections 60 and 61. In this second embodiment, theupper rack is split from front to rear of the washing enclosure 17 insuch a manner that its left rack section 60 covers approximatelytwo-fifths and its right rack section 61 covers approximatelythreefifths of the left-to-right horizontal dimension of the washingenclosure 17.

The left and right sections 60 and 61 are respectively removably mountedin the central opening in the heavy wire left and right frames 62 and63, which are in turn each mounted for substantially horizontal slidingmovement through the access opening 18 on modified slide means that aremounted within the enclosure 17. Each of the frames 62 and 63 issubstantially rectangular and has an outer edge adjacent one of thecabinet side walls 15, 16 and an inner edge adjacent the split betweenthe rack sections 60 and 61. The modified slide means for this secondembodiment includes outer slide means substantially identical to slidemeans 44 provided in the first embodiment illustrated in FIGURES l-3 andmodified inner slide means 64 for the inner edge of each of the frames62 and 63.

The modified inner slide means 64 include a bracket 65 which is fastenedby suitable means, such as welds, to the interior of the cabinet topwall 12 adjacent the front of the access opening 18 at a point locatedapproximately two-fifths of the distance from the left 15 to the rightside wall 16 of the cabinet 11. The bracket 65 has a verti cal dependentportion 66 which rotatably journals four rollers 67 on each of its leftand right faces. The rollers 67 on the faces of the bracket portion 66receive an inner slide 68 which is similar to the outer slide 46 and isprovided with elongated slots 69 and 70. The slots 69 and 70respectively receive a front roller 71 and a rear roller 72 which areeach rotatably journalled on a tab 73 that extends vertically from theinner edge of each of the frames 62 and 63.

As shown in detail in FIGURE 6, the rear end of each of the outer andinner slides 46 and 68 of the second embodiment is provided with apivoted stop 74 which is normally retained in a vertical position bydetent means 75 formed on it and the slide so that it can engage therear ends of the rollers 47 and 67 and prevent removal of the slide fromthe washing enclosure 17. However, when it is desired to completelyremove the frames 62 or 63 from the washing enclosure 17, the stops 74are forced free from their detent means 75 and pivoted to a horizontalposition to allow movement of the slides 46 and 68 through the rollers47 and 67.

The second embodiment illustrated in. FIGURES 4-6 includes two means forselectively positioning its rack sections 60 and 61 at variouselevations relative to one another in the lower rack 36.

The first of these elevation positioning means are somewhat similar tothose provided in the first embodiment shown in FIGURES 1-3, and includea pair of transversely-spaced horizontal studs 76 projecting into thecentral opening from the front and rear edges of each of the frames 62and 63. Each of the open framework upper rack sections 60 and 61 isprovided with vertically-spaced horizontal rods 77 and 78 which arerespectively located adjacent the top and bottom of the front and rearends of each of the rack sections 60 and 61 and are selectivelyengageable with the studs 76. If it is desired to position one of theupper rack sections 60 or 61 at a higher elevation within the Washingenclosure 17, its bottom rods 78 are engaged with the complementarystuds 76 on its frame when the rack section is mounted within thecentral opening thereof. Alternatively, if it is desired to position oneof the rack sections 60 or 61 at a lower elevation, its upper rods 77are so engaged.

The second elevation positioning means are provided by the removableframes 62 and 63. As illustrated in FIGURES 4 and 5, the removableframes 62 and 63 are vertically offset from the horizontal axes of theirrollers 48, 49 and 71, 72 which are received within the slots 50, 51 and69, 70 in their outer 46 and inner slides 68 by the tabs 73.Consequently, the removable frames 62 and 63 can be positioned eitherabove or below the axes of these rollers 48, 49 and 71, 72 dependingupon the direction in which their tabs 73 extend when their slides 46and 68 are inserted into the side wall 47 and bracket rollers 67. Asshown in FIGURE 4, the left frame 62 has been inserted with its tabs 73extending downward and is located above the axes of its slide-receivedrollers 48, 49 and 71, 72, while the right rack 63 has been insertedwith its tabs 73 extending upward and is located below the axes of itsslide-received rollers and below the left rack frame 62. As shown inFIGURE 5, both removable rack frames 62 and 63 have been inserted withtheir tabs 73 extending upward and both are located at the sameelevation.

As will be evident from the foregoing description, certain aspects ofthe invention are not limited to the particular details of constructionof the examples illustrated, and it is contemplated that various othermodifications or applications will occur to those skilled in the art.

What we claim as new and desire to secure by Letters Patent of theUnited States is:

1. In an automatic dishwasher of the type including a washing enclosurehaving top, bottom and side walls and an access opening in one of theside walls, an improved rack assembly for supporting articles to bewashed positioned within the enclosure, comprising:

(a) a lower rack positionable within a lower portion of the enclosurefor substantially horizontal movement through the access opening; and

(b) support means in the enclosure for supporting a plurality ofgenerally side-by-side removable upper racks selectively at differentelevations above said lower rack for substantially horizontal slidingmovement through the access opening independently of said lower rack andone another;

(c) said support means including a plurality of centrally open frames,one for receiving each of said upper rack, and mounting means formounting each of said frames in said enclosure for independent slidingmovement through said access opening.

2. In an automatic dishwasher of the type including a washing enclosurehaving top, bottom and side walls and an access opening in one of theside walls, an improved rack assembly for supporting articles to bewashed positioned within the enclosure, comprising:

(a) a lower rack positionable within the lower portion of the enclosurefor substantially horizontal movement through the access opening;

(b) an upper rack positionable within the upper portion of the enclosurevertically spaced from said lower rack;

(c) said upper rack including a left section and a right section;

(d) support means in the enclosure for supporting each of said upperrack sections for substantially hori- Zontal sliding movement throughthe access opening independently of one another and of the lower rack;and

(e) selectively engageable complementary elevation positioning means onat least one of said upper rack sections and its support means forvarying the elevation of said one of said rack sections relative to theother of said rack sections and said lower rack.

3. In an automatic dishwasher of the type including a washing enclosurehaving top, bottom and side walls and an access opening in one of theside walls, an improved rack assembly for supporting articles to bewashed positioned within the enclosure, comprising:

(a) a left rack section;

(b) a right rack section;

(c) support means in the enclosure for supporting each of said racksections for substantially horizontal sliding movement through theaccess opening independently of one another; and

(d) selectively engageable complementary elevation positioning means onat least one of said rack sections and its support means for varying theelevation of said one of said rack sections relative to the other ofsaid rack sections.

4. In an automatic dishwasher of the type including a washing enclosurehaving top, bottom and side walls and an access opening in one of theside walls, an improved rack assembly for supporting articles to bewashed positioned within the enclosure, comprising:

(a) a left rack section;

(b) a right rack section; and

() support means in the enclosure for supporting each of said racksections for substantially horizontal sliding movement through theaccess opening independently of one another;

(d) said support means for said sections including a support membermounted on the top wall of the enclosure.

5. In an automatic dishwasher of the type including a washing enclosurehaving top, bottom and side walls and an access opening in one ofsaidside walls, an improved rack assembly for supporting articles to bewashed positioned within .the enclosure, comprising:

(a) a lower rack positionable within a lower portion of the enclosurefor substantially horizontal movement through the access opening;

(b) said lower rack having a cross-sectional area which consumessubstantially the entire horizontal crosssectional area of the enclosurewhen positioned therein;

(0) support means in the enclosure for supporting a plurality ofgenerally side-by-side upper racks above said lower rack forsubstantially horizontal movement through the access openingindependently of said lower rack and one another;

((1) said support means including a plurality of centrally open frames,at least one for receiving each of said upper racks; and

(e) mounting means for mounting each of said frames in said enclosurefor independent sliding movement through the access opening.

'6. The invention of claim 1, wherein:

(a) each of said frames is provided with elevation positioning meansselectively engageable with complementary means on the rack receivedtherein.

7. The invention of claim 1, wherein:

(a) said open frames comprise a pair; and

(b) said mounting means for mounting each of said frames in theenclosure includes (i) first slide means mounted on one of the enclosureside walls, and

(ii) second slide means mounted on the enclosure top wall.

8. The invention of claim 1, wherein:

(a) at least one of said frames is removable from its mounting means,whereby it can be completely removed from the dishwasher.

9. The invention of claim 1, wherein:

(a) at least one of said frames is mountable in its mounting means in atleast two different positions whereby its elevation within the enclosurecan be varied.

References Cited UNITED STATES PATENTS 2,825,617 3/1958 Morgan 312-3513,245,742 4/1966 Lampman 312-304 3,303,934 2/1967 Presslcy 211-181 X3,321,261 5/1967 Guth 312-269 3,325,236 6/1967 Lustig 3l2304 X 3,347,61310/1967 Krzewina 312-348 X 3,352,431 11/1967 Smith 312-351 JAMES T.McCALL, Primary Examiner U.S. Cl. X.R.

